Ed Miliband this weekend announced he would push to grant fresh powers to Ofgem that would enable it to force providers to slash bills as wholesale energy prices plummet, writes The Independent.

This proposal comes after a) George Osborne said he’d investigate whether consumers were benefiting from low energy prices and b) Big 6 energy companies told the government pre-election price cutting is “illogical and impractical” (reported by Sky News).

As the price cut conversation continues into 2015, small supplier Ecotricity is seeing the benefit of the perennial unpopularity of Big 6 providers — it almost doubled in size last year, reports Business Green.

Consumers up in Birmingham might already be seeing savings, as The Daily Mail reports petrol prices at independent gas station Harvest Energy offers less than a pound per litre.

2) Oil companies in danger following price crash

UK oil operations – especially those in the North Sea – look to be afforded big tax breaks by government as the oil price collapse places the industry in mortal danger,reports The Telegraph.

Australian oil and gas companies could face credit rating downgrading, as Standard & Poor’s gave up on a return to energy price normality in 2015 and slashed next year’s forecast, reports the Sydney Morning Herald.